4th Sunday of Lent March 15, 2026

Our Lady of Peace Parish
Also Serving Our Lady of the Smile Parish, Waterhen Lake and
St. Jude’s Parish, Green Lake
Office Hours: Closed MON, WED, FRI
OPEN : Tuesday & Thursday   9:00 AM – Noon
Office Phone:  306-236-5122 
Cell Phone: 306-304-7271
Parish Email: [email protected] Pastor Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Catholic Church Meadow Lake
Website: https://www.meadowlakecatholicchurch.com/
Address: 504-3rd Ave. East, Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1H5  

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  Psalm 23 Refrain

March 15, 2026
4th Sunday of Lent
 
Our Vision:
A Community of Disciples
Our Mission
We commit to form disciples
who joyfully and faithfully
live out the mission of
Jesus Christ
by enriching our relationship
with God and neighbour
through the intercession of
Our Lady of Peace.
Pastor: 
Fr. Uche Umechikelu, MSP
Parish Secretary:
Myra Briscoe

Masses Intentions
When there is a funeral, the daily mass will normally be cancelled.  Check Facebook for the most up-to-date information.  On Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday, Our Lady of Peace masses will be livestreamed on Facebook.
 
Mon., Mar. 16  – No mass

Tues., Mar. 17 – 10:00 am Liturgy with Communion at the Lodge

Tues., Mar. 17 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +For the McCallum family by Florence Bell

Wed., Mar. 18 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +For the Lachance family by Florence Bell

Thurs., Mar. 19  - 10:00 am – 11:00 am Eucharistic Adoration

Thurs., Mar. 19 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) Penitential Service and Reconciliation with additional priests - 1. For passing the Psychiatric nurse exam from Venia Velayo
                                 2. Thanks giving mass from Cheska Peaches Galem
                                 3. A special intention from Bernadette & Manuel Franco

Fri.,  Mar. 20 –  9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +For Mary Smith by Judi Lang

Fri., Mar. 20 – 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Reconciliation with Fr. Uche
                         7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church) Stations of the Cross
 
Sat., Mar. 21 –  7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace) - People of God

Sun., Mar. 22 – 10:00 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - People of God

Sun., Mar. 22  – 12:30 pm (St. Jude’s Green Lake) - People of God

Sun., Mar. 22 – 3:00 pm (Our Lady of the Smile Waterhen)- People of God
 
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

1. Catechism class will be after mass today.
2. Stations of the Cross will be every Friday at 7:00 pm.
3. 40 Cans for Lent has started in the Church, please consider donating non-perishable food items.
4. Penitential service and Reconciliation with additional priests on Thursday evening, and Reconciliation with Fr. Uche on Friday evening.

Sunday Collection –  March 8, 2026  Meadow Lake  $1,313.65   Green Lake  $94.75   Children’s  $5.35
 
Sunday Church Attendance –    March 8, 2026   Adults 121  Children  10  Total  131
 
The Pope’s Prayer Intention for March – For disarmament and peace – Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.
 
Parish Wide Volunteer Appreciation Day -  Will be held after mass in the hall on March 29.  There will be a free pancake breakfast, with some games for the kids and a bingo.  Come and enjoy with us!
 
Easter Reconciliation/Confession – Two days will be available for Easter Confession.  On March 19 at 6:30 pm with penitential service, and additional priests.  On March 20, Father Uche will be available from 5:30 – 7:00 pm.  Father Uche will be available after masses to do Confession in Green Lake and Waterhen.
 
MSP/AMSP Lenten Retreat – For spiritual growth and healing.  This retreat will be held at St. Therese Parish in Leoville, SK on Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 am – 3:30 pm.  Please register by March 26 with how many people will be attending to Fr Peter Paase - 306-441-9985 Email: [email protected] - or Germaine Vany - 306-398-7601 Email: [email protected]
 
Palm Sunday Masses – Saturday, March 28th – 5:00 pm St. Jude’s in Green Lake.  Sunday, March 29th – 10:00 am Our Lady of Peace in Meadow Lake (live-streamed).  Sunday, March 29th – 3:00 pm Our Lady of the Smile in Waterhen.
 
Chrism Mass – This year’s mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30 pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Prince Albert.  All are welcome to attend.
 
Scripture Insights – 4th Sunday of Lent
Taken from Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2026: The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2025, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 126.
 
 The texts this Sunday are about seeing and not seeing, about the light and the darkness, about blindness and eyes being opened.  In the first reading, Samuel sees the sons of Jesse but can’t see them rightly, because he looks only at their outward appearance.  The Lord looks instead “into the heart” (1 Sm 16:7).  God’s chosen one is not even there at the selection; as the youngest son, nobody looked at him and saw a king.  When the young David arrives, the narrator observes that he is, in fact, handsome.  But that’s not the point.
Perhaps God sees something of his own character in this young shepherd.  After all, David himself describes God as his shepherd in Psalm 23.  God is a good shepherd who gives rest and refreshes and guides, who guards and protects and gives courage.  Even though David walks through the darkest valleys (unable to see what is in front of him), he does not fear with God at his side.
In John’s account of the Gospel, Jesus opens the eyes of a man blind from birth.  The Pharisees assume that his blindness results from his sin, or from the sin of his parents, a notion that Jesus sternly rejects.  When Jesus tells the blind man that he has seen the Son of Man, this is a literal claim and a spiritual one: the blind man now sees Jesus physically with his own eyes, but he also sees the deeper spiritual truth of who Jesus really is.  In the sense, it is the Pharisees who are blind, unable to see.
 

• We can scoff at the disciples for assuming blindness was a punishment for sin, but are we all that different?  Victim blaming is rampant in our culture: suffering comes from doing something wrong.  We want to believe we can avoid suffering by making the right choices.
• The contrast between the blind man and the Pharisees reminds us that there are worse evils than pain and worse deprivations than loneliness.  After his sight is restored, the once-blind man finds himself socially outcast for his faith in Christ.  His testimony doesn’t fit into the narrative the Pharisees have constructed to protect their own comfortable lives and beliefs.  Even then, the newly sighted man remains grateful and worships Jesus.  His physical blindness prepared the blind man to recognize the healing Christ came to offer; the Pharisee’s selfishness and spiritual blindness prevented them from seeing what was happening right in front of them.  Which is the greater deprivation?